HRM

Preface I don’t know what got into me. Without any planning of plot or characters, without any outline of key points chapter by chapter and, quite frankly, without knowing what the hell I was doing, I just started writing. The first chapter was posted 12-6-2016 (the finale on 12-30-2016), and then the fat really was in the […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] And there it was! DCI Fritz saw the way forward. Without forensic evidence to prove him the murderer or even an eyewitness who could place Wrigley at the murder scene at the right time, Fritz had no real basis for charging Wrigley. But what he […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] There was silence as each of them absorbed the implications of what had just been said against the known backdrop of the case. The murder took place in a closed facility with tight security which tended to rule out a wandering homicidal maniac. There were […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] As they kicked around these latest ideas, DCI Fritz began to draw up a chart of his own on a napkin. Who could have had the necessary access to Cummins? Whose arrival in his office would not have aroused any concerns? With whom might Cummins […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] While they were still digesting Zelda’s Sherry tray bombshell, and knowing that the thorough search for it would take many hours or even days, DCI Fritz picked up his reporting with the results of his team’s meetings with the candidates whose file folders were on […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] When they’d gathered, making small talk until their food had been served, it struck each of the two ladies, without any conversation about it, that they weren’t being treated as suspects but rather as partners — or perhaps just assistants — in the investigation. And […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] The next big issue presented itself to DCI Fritz when he got the final autopsy report with toxicology results. The most interesting item was that Mr. Cummins had a great deal of diazepam, prescribed with care as a muscle relaxant and anti-anxiety medication, in his system at the […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] With this first news conference behind them, and everyone working hard on their assigned inquiries or analyses, and with the analyst assigned to help her making good progress, Zelda finally had a chance to reflect on all that had happened in such a short period […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] On one thing they all agreed. Much more deciphering was needed to paint a more complete picture of what Mr. Cummins had been doing, for how long he had been doing it, with what impact on the organization, and with what, if any, co-conspirators. In […]

[Here’s the entire series in case you missed previous chapters] Fearful that Ms. Patel had fainted, Zelda stopped mid-way in her explanation of what she had found and moved quickly to Ms. Patel’s side while DCI Fritz asked one of his officers to bring some water and a cool wet cloth. Mr. Wrigley was strangely […]